Elected officials in Bessemer City continue to grapple with deciding how to best police their city.

City Council held a special meeting Thursday to address the issue.

The board is faced with the decision of paying thousands of additional dollars to Gaston County for its police service or forming its own force.

Council members talked for a little more than an hour but decided not to take a vote until the regular monthly meeting scheduled for Monday.

Past relationship

Bessemer City dissolved its police department 14 years ago. Gaston County took over the job.

The Gaston County Police Department has provided police protection for Bessemer City since 1998. The city pays $357,000 a year for the service, while allowing the county to use an 8,000-square-foot building at City Hall as a police substation.

The contract has been renewed on an annual basis, with no one ever questioning the exchange of value.

County commissioners said they recently realized their costs are far above what they are paid in return. They decided not to renew the contract with Bessemer City using old figures.

Instead, the city was given a phase-in process that would cost $624,000 for county police service in 2014 and gradually increase to $1.1 million by 2018.

The current contract runs through July 1, but county commissioners would like an answer from Bessemer City by the end of the month.

With enough notice, the county could find other positions for the officers who would be displaced if Bessemer City starts its own police department, according to Gaston County Manager Jan Winters.

The 12 officers would fill vacant positions.

Bessemer City Mayor Becky Smith and council members said during the meeting that they’d like the county to come back with a lower annual fee.

Winters said Friday that commissioners have laid out their fee structure, and they’re now just waiting for an answer from Bessemer City.

Council members wanted to know what was discussed during the commissioners meeting.

Winters said commissioners discussed the topic during a closed session, during which the public was shut out. He said changing the fee structure was not mentioned.

Separate department

Bessemer City Manager James Inman worked in law enforcement for years before taking his current position.

He used his experience and knowledge to talk about the cost of starting and maintaining a city police department during the meeting. City Council also garnered information from a consultant.

The city would need about $800,000 a year, according to Inman.

An 11-member police staff – with a captain, two sergeants and eight officers – would cost about $440,000 a year. Benefits would bump that annual cost up to $640,000, according to the consultant.

Factoring in vehicles, uniforms, weapons and other necessities, Bessemer City’s total police department cost in 2013 would be $858,484.

City Councilman Dan Boling said he’d love to see Bessemer City have its own department again. He also said he’d love to poll each resident to get their opinion.

The study included a survey where people weighed in on what’s best for the city. Seventy-three percent of those who took the survey said they wanted a Bessemer City Police Department. Inman pointed out that the survey was not scientific and only included a small amount of the population.

Tough decision

Smith and Inman both said they value the police service that’s been provided to them for more than a decade.

The issue isn’t with quality of service, said Smith. It’s a business decision between the city and the county.

Smith and several council members continually questioned the $1.1 million fee during the Thursday meeting. They said before they’d feel comfortable paying the amount, they wanted to see an itemized budget.

Winters said that information was emailed to the mayor earlier this week.

Smith said she is primarily concerned with how residents will be affected by the decision.

“I don’t think as a council that we should put this cost on our citizens,” she said.

You can reach reporter Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817 and twittery.com/GazetteDiane.